David Rosen has once again updated his Wolfire Software development blog on Lugaru 2. This time, David and his companions at Wolfire have added water effects and screenspace distortion, along with screenshots to accompany the updates. He also noted that they are working on underwater effects and other features which are yet to come.

We can now apply distortion effects to anything; in this screenshot I applied a basic refraction shader to the player model! Screen-space distortion is much faster than cube map distortion, because we do not have to render the scene extra times.

This effect will be used for heat haze, water refraction, fire distortion, and so on.

Intel Mac users eager to get Windows XP running on your Mac may be in luck. A hacker named Narf has presumably, after weeks of work, been able to successfully install a version of Windows XP on his Intel iMac. The hacker began posting photos a few days ago and today released a video of the hack.

The solution has been submitted to the Windows XP on Mac site for review and an official announcement should be made soon. To check out the video, follow the link below.

Swoop Software has released Kitty Spangles Solitaire 2, the latest version of their solitaire game. The new version now includes 17 new games including Freecell, Spider, Yukon, and more. The game is now a Universal Binary and includes new themes and a more intuitive user interface.

If you're already a register user of the original Kitty Spangles Solitaire, the upgrade to 2.0 is free. New registrations cost $19.99.

To download the shareware version of KSS 2.0, head over to Macgamefiles.com.

IMG has posted a review of Pangea's latest game, Enigmo 2. Here's a clip from the review:

Enigmo 2 is advertised as taking the original Enigmo concept to a whole new dimension. In literal terms, that is in fact true, even though it sounds like marketing hype! But perhaps it would be fairer to say that the game takes the next logical step that players could have anticipated. Enigmo had a 3D graphics engine but only allowed the game to be played in two dimensions. Enigmo 2 is essentially the same game with a few enhancements, with the major change being that the 3D graphics engine is now matched by a truly 3D playing environment. You no longer have just a straight-on view of the puzzle area: you can view it from any angle and, more importantly, the various objects in the game can move in any of the three dimensions.

Fantasy Flight Games, creators of the WarCraft andWorld of WarCraft themed board games has announced yet another Blizzard game, StarCraft to make it from your computer to your living room table. StarCraft: The Board Game will feature diceless swift combat with either Terran, Protiss, or Zerg to battle it out on one of many gameboards depicting the StarCraft universe.

It features a large central game board depicting the Starcraft galaxy, as well as nine separate smaller boards that each represent a specific planet in the Starcraft universe. Players will control the familiar Terran, Protoss, or Zerg space and ground units in a bid for domination of these nine worlds. The combat system is fast and diceless, featuring an innovative mechanic that utilizes transparent plastic game cards. The game will feature dozens of beautifully sculpted plastic figures, dozens of cards, lots of high-quality cardboard tokens and markers, a large game board and several mini-boards, and all of the other great components that pack our epic-size games.

Tactical Mac Games website, *DAMN R6 has announced that Punisher and Monoman of Mac Gaming Mods has released a new mappack for Ghost Recon. The X|Mappack has already received praise from the gaming community and screenshots are available at the website.

Punisher and Monoman have released the excellent X|MapPack for Ghost Recon. It features 9 new maps that have been in the works for over 7 months. I just played around an hour with it, but I can already say this is a must have for all Ghost Recon players.

In a recent GameDaily Biz interview, legendary game developer Sid Meier gave his insights on Civilization IV and gaming in general. Meier pulled out his crystal ball to predict future trends in the industry and discussed the current state of PC gaming.

BIZ: If you had never made Civilization and you went with the idea to a publisher in today's market, do you think it would get made?

SM: I would like to think that it had a chance today. It's in a genre that's had a fairly good reputation, the whole god game/building game, and I think turn-based is actually kind of making a comeback these days, on handhelds as well... And it's a game that you can put together fairly quickly in prototype form and you can have somebody play and hopefully get the idea.

So for a long time there's been that debate of "Are publishers too conservative? Are they stifling innovation?" And I think there's constant tension between publishers wanting to make the safer and perhaps a little less innovative game and the developers wanting unlimited budget and unlimited freedom to do whatever they want. And I don't think either approach is the right one; there's got to be a grown-up and a kid involved in all decisions [laughs]. So, yes I'd like to think that it would have a shot at being made today.

MacNN has posted a review of Feral Interactive's Family Fun Pack 2, a compilation offering Worms 3D, Rayman 3, Ghost Master, and the Children's Encyclopedia Britannica 2004 Edition. Worms 3D is the latest in the trajectory based strategy series, Rayman 3 is a cheerful cartoon based adventure game, and Ghost Master is a unique Sim style puzzle game which puts players in the ectoplasmic shoes of haunts intent on scaring humanity. MacNN gave the Family Fun Pack 4 out of 5 stars.

From the review:

Worms3D:In addition to digit dexterity, Worms 3D also requires a quick mind to recall where the enemy resides, to formulate strategies, and calculate trajectories, distances and crosswinds, which change from moment to moment. Worms 3D requires patience, because the computer players are expert marksman and make nearly impossible shots! Unfortunately, this ability easily frustrates new players in the first levels. Worms 3D is anything but simplistic.

Rayman 3:Rayman 3 is as much a puzzle and strategy game as a 3D adventure. The increasing difficulty of the levels includes increasingly challenging puzzles. Each level has a goal and to perform these tasks, the player must figure out how to close a door to stop the retreating barrel that hides different items in each level. These puzzles are the true appeal and challenge of Rayman 3, while the cartoon finish, characters, and humor create an entertaining atmosphere. Children who can understand instructions will enjoy Rayman 3, as will their parents.

Ghost Master:Ghost Master is more than a frightmare. It is also a logic and puzzle game. The objectives between hauntings vary. In some hauntings, the Ghost Master must release fettered spirits. Sometimes this release is simply scaring away a particular mortal. Sometimes this is considerably more difficult, like breaking a particular jar. In other hauntings, the Ghost Master must coax humans to move about the haunting or eliminate obstacles that hinder humans from taking a particular action to achieve the goals of that particular haunting. Questions like, what motivates the humans present, or what obstacles need removal and how is that accomplished, keep the game challenging and frightfully fun.